Scooters have been known for many years. Traditionally they have been available as a child's plaything, but more recently motorized versions have been marketed for use by older children and adults. Basically a scooter consists of a frame carrying a steerable front ground wheel and a rear wheel, the frame providing a platform upon which the rider stands. In the simple non-powered version, the rider stands with one foot on the platform and repeatedly pushes the other foot against the ground to push the scooter along. In the motorized version, the platform may be large enough for the rider to place both feet thereon.
While the motorized versions have the advantage of greater speed, they tend to be noisy and require an energy source such as a heavy rechargeable battery or occasional supplies of fuel.
There is therefore a need to provide a scooter which has improved mobility but which does not suffer from the disadvantages of weight or the need to supply fuel.
A pedal scooter has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,102-B1 (Fan). The scooter has a frame carrying a steerable front ground wheel and a rear ground wheel. A spring-loaded pedal is pivotally mounted to the frame. An eccentric coupling connects the pedal to a sprocket wheel carrying a drive chain for transferring drive to the rear ground wheel. The connection between the pedal and the sprocket wheel may include a ratchet mechanism to permit one-way drive. There is also a one-way drive connection between the drive chain and the rear ground wheel. This device suffers from a number of disadvantages. For example, the drive includes an eccentric coupling between an arm carried by the pedal and the sprocket wheel. This arrangement provides an unreliable return stroke for the pedal and is a serious disadvantage for the comfort of the rider.